WORLD EDUCATION CONNECT MULTIDISCIPLINARY E-PUBLICATION
Vol. V Issue IX (September 2025)
International Circulation
This is an open-access, peer-reviewed, and refereed international publication in online & printed versions that features research papers, abstracts, theses, dissertations, and journals. It is registered to the ISSN National Center of the Philippines, and ISSN International Center, the Global Index for Continuing Resources with ISSN (Online) 2799-0842 and ISSN (Print) 2799-130X.
World Education Connect Multidisciplinary e-Publication, Vol. V, Issue IX (September 2025), pp.153-155
Bernard Vasquez Articona
PHD Student, UPHSD, Metro Manila
Abstract
This qualitative study explored how Senior High School (SHS) teachers and students understand and strengthen English proficiency in three sub-offices of the Division of Laguna (Nagcarlan, Liliw, and Santa Cruz). Using a descriptive phenomenological design and Colaizzi’s method, interviews with six English teachers and four SHS students surfaced lived realities across the macro skills. Participants described a persistent decoding-without-comprehension pattern, first-language interference in pronunciation, and high affective filters in whole-class speaking. Socioeconomic constraints and inconsistent home support further limited remediation and exposure. Effective practices clustered around: (a) meaning-centered reading and short, daily writing; (b) structured talk and low-stakes oral rehearsal; (c) collaborative tasks with clear roles; (d) differentiation and teacher-made materials; and (e) judicious technology, especially pronunciation tutorials. Implications include early screening with ongoing progress checks, intelligibility-first pronunciation routines, embedded vocabulary building, flexible remediation schedules, and family-facing literacy guidance. The study underscores that steady, humane, and context-responsive routines—not one-time programs—convert small gains into durable proficiency for SHS learners in Laguna.
Introduction
English proficiency is essential for academic performance, employment, and global participation. However, many Filipino senior high school (SHS) students decipher text without understanding it, fear judgment, and struggle to apply classroom information to real-life communication. Recent large-scale examinations show reading literacy gaps, igniting local attempts to explore what helps and hinders English learning in specific schools. This study applies the ideas of SHS instructors and students from three Laguna Division sub offices (Nagcarlan, Liliw, and Santa Cruz) to action. Practical goals include identifying hurdles, effective techniques, and next steps for instruction and school support. The synthesis is based on a qualitative dissertation that employed descriptive phenomenology to study six English teachers and four pupils.
Methods
The study used qualitative, descriptive phenomenology to analyze English teaching and learning experiences of ten co-participants: six SHS English teachers and four Laguna Division public school SHS students. The participants discussed classroom reality, reading and pronunciation, anxiety, parental participation, and feasible techniques in semi-structured interviews. The researcher coded lines, clustered meanings, and developed thematic descriptions. The study stressed the importance of integrity and honesty, ensuring consent and confidentiality while anonymizing participants. The study's credibility was confirmed through verbatim transcription, theme extraction, and careful dissertation literature comparison.
Results
Senior high school English competence is the coordinated use of speaking, listening, reading, and writing in school, job, and daily life. Many students confuse “good English” with flawless speech, which causes fear and quiet. Reading is the bigger challenge: students can decipher text but miss main concepts, inferences, and purpose, especially with limited vocabulary and background knowledge. First language sound systems shape vowels and stress, reducing intelligibility and confidence. Student fear rises in entire class settings, where they expect ridicule. Peer interviews, role plays, and show-and-tell that normalize mistakes reduce it. Domestic factors like parental neglect, job, transportation, and food instability distract kids from remediation and focus. Simple daily reading and writing routines, controlled conversation and shadowing, collaborative jigsaw puzzles, and dignified differentiation through stations, tiered prompts, and teacher-made materials—lightly augmented by pronunciation video tutorials—work. Humane, sustained practice—more chances, not louder corrections—turns minor wins into permanent proficiency.
Discussion
This local evidence paints a compassionate and practical picture. First, reading instruction must move decisively from decoding to meaning-making. Systematic vocabulary work, think‑aloud modeling, and guided summarizing make comprehension visible and learnable. Second, pronunciation support deserves steady attention framed around intelligibility and confidence; integrating short, daily pronunciation moments within content lessons avoids siloing the skill. Third, fear subsides when students have frequent, supported chances to speak in small, safe settings; scaffolding from pairs to groups to whole‑class sharing can widen participation without spiking anxiety.
Equity concerns are real. Irregular attendance tied to work and basic needs dampens intervention effects. Schools can respond by pairing instructional improvement with school‑level supports: flexible remediation schedules, school feeding programs where available, and family‑facing literacy workshops that demonstrate how to help at home using simple materials. None of these erase hardship, but together they keep learners connected to instruction long enough to benefit from it.
Implications for practice
The text provides a comprehensive guide for Special Education teachers (SHS) to improve reading comprehension and oral fluency. It emphasizes early diagnosis and ongoing monitoring, using actionable screeners and monthly checks to guide grouping and support. The guide also emphasizes the importance of literacy first pronunciation, using leveled, locally relevant texts for success. The guide also emphasizes structured talk, using roles and sentence starters in group tasks, and differentiation with dignity, ensuring learners engage at their zone of proximal development without feeling labeled.
Limitations
Findings arise from a small purposive sample in one Philippine division and reflect participants’ contexts. While transferability is plausible to similar SHS settings, results are not statistically generalizable. Future work can include classroom observations, student work analysis, and mixed‑methods designs to strengthen causal inferences.
Conclusion
Student movement is possible when teachers combine steady, meaning-rich reading with intelligibility-focused pronunciation practice, regular, supported speaking opportunities, and attention to fear and scarcity. Though modest, progress is genuine and compounds. These practices are daily routines that help students find their voice, grasp what they read, and carry English into the world when taught by loving SHS teachers.
References
British Council. (2023). Teaching English through literature: Workbook. https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/sites/teacheng/files/2023-08/Workbook_for_teaching_English_through_literature.pdf (TeachingEnglish)
Organisation for Economic Co‑operation and Development. (2023). PISA 2022 results (Volume I): The state of learning and equity in education. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/53f23881-en (OECD)
Rose, H., McKinley, J., & Galloway, N. (2021). Global Englishes and language teaching: A review of pedagogical research. Language Teaching, 54(2), 157–189. (Cambridge University Press & Assessment)
Sardegna, V. G., & Jarosz, A. (2023). English pronunciation teaching: Theory, practice and research findings. Multilingual Matters. (Multilingual Matters)
Wang, X., Jia, L., & Jin, Y. (2020). Reading amount and reading strategy as mediators of the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic reading motivation on reading achievement. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 586346. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.586346 (Frontiers)
DOI 1 10.5281/zenodo.17173261
